667 Maoist attacks killed 590 in Chhattisgarh: police

Police say 590 people, including 298 security personnel - most of them paramilitary troopers, have been killed in 667 Maoist attacks in Chhattisgarh since 2009.

"A total of 298 security personnel were martyred while 292 civilians were also killed in the state between January 2009 till January 2011 in a total of 667 Maoist attacks," a source at the police headquarters here said.

He said paramilitary troopers suffered the maximum casualty as 170 of their personnel were killed, the state police force lost 86 people while 42 special police officers (SPOs) were also killed by Maoists.

The official said a total of Rs.2495.50 lakh insurance amount was paid to the deceased cops' families in addition to Rs.1,211 lakh as ex-gratia.

More than 95% casualties took place in the state's sprawling 40,000 sq km mineral rich Bastar region which has been a nerve centre of Maoists since the late 1980s. Though 10 of the state's 18 districts are bracketed as insurgency-hit, the top three districts that witnessed the maximum number of attacks since 2009 were - Dantewada with 184 attacks, Kanker with 160 and Bijapur with 121.